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	Did Priest Abuse Others? By Bryan Fitzgerald Albany Times Union April 20, 2011 http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Did-priest-abuse-others-1344323.php SCHUYLERVILLE -- The family of a local man who said he was sexually abused by an Episcopal priest in Schuylerville 30 years ago is urging more victims to come forward. The man disclosed the alleged abuse to his family in March after learning that Franklin E. Huntress, 77, had resigned from the priesthood in February rather than face another charge of sexual abuse in Massachusetts. Huntress served at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Schuylerville from March 1979 to December 1985. He served in no other parishes in New York state. The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts began investigating Huntress in October after a man said he was abused by the priest while he presided over a Massachusetts church in 1974. The investigation revealed that Huntress, who moved among churches in New York, Massachusetts and England for 40 years, was charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy in England in 1994. According to the diocese, that case was dismissed after the family of the boy refused to let him testify, but the Massachusetts diocese said it found enough evidence to conclude the allegations were true. Huntress, who is not married, resigned rather than face charges of abuse from the church, according to a spokeswoman for the diocese. The Schuylerville victim told his family about the abuse after seeing a news report about the Massachusetts case. The family of the 39-year-old victim said he has largely avoided the upstate New York area since graduating from college. "It makes sense now," one family member said. "It explains a lot of things." The Massachusetts diocese and the Schuylerville victim contacted New York state police, but criminal charges cannot be filed against Huntress because the statute of limitations expired over 20 years ago. "We'd love to do more," State Police senior investigator Michael Cuomo said. "We're willing to sit down and talk to any potential victims about it, get them help if they need it. But at this point there's not much we can with any charges from 30 years ago." When the alleged abuse occurred, the statute of limitations required any charges to be filed within five years of the alleged incident or five years after the victim turned 18, according to Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy. Albany lawyer Paul DerOhannesian said the statute of limitations on any civil case against Huntress for charges of abuse during his time in Schuylerville have expired as well. The family of the alleged victim hopes more people will come forward in both New York and Massachusetts, in the hopes that one victim's allegations may be within the time frame to prosecute Huntress. Massachusetts diocese spokeswoman Tracy Sukraw said the diocese has received several other complaints against Huntress since his resignation was made public. Bishop William H. Love of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany said only the victim from Schuylerville has made allegations against Huntress to the Albany diocese. Love, who has been the bishop since 2007, said he did not know Huntress personally. It is the second alleged incident of abuse against an Episcopal priest in the diocese since 2007, Love said. He said the other incident was dismissed after the accused priest passed a polygraph test and the alleged victim refused to take one. "This is something we take extremely seriously," Love said. "The church as a whole has suffered a great deal because of the misdeeds of a few priests in the past." Huntress did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday. The family of the alleged victim from Schuylerville said Huntress was a popular and ubiquitous presence during his tenure at St. Stephen's. "He was like a big kid who never grew up," one family member said. The family said Huntress was involved and participated in youth sporting events. "Everyone seemed to love him," another family member said. "He was 50 years old and he would play full-court basketball with the kids. He was definitely someone who was looked up to. "(The charges) could not be more against his image. It was very shocking at first," the family member continued. "But then when you look back at everything in hindsight 30 years later, you wonder why you didn't catch any of the signs." Reach Fitzgerald at 454-5414 or at bfitzgerald@timesunion.com.
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